Method of manufacturing a flooring panel

ABSTRACT

A method of manufacturing a flooring panel is described which involves (a) gluing wooden slats in a covering fashion on a backing board, (b) applying a filler material over the wooden slats in such a manner that openings in or between the slats are filled, (c) forming the backing board with the wooden slats into a flooring panel with desired dimensions, and (d) grinding the upper surface of the flooring panel down to a clean wood surface.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a flooring panel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There is presently on the market a flooring of parquet-type comprising thin or narrow wooden slats. Each slat has a length of about 160 mm, a width of about 8 mm and a thickness of about 20-22 mm. Such slats are put side by side in parallel to a length of about 400 mm and are provided with adhesive tape to form a packet or panel with a length of 400 mm, a width of 160 mm and a thickness of 20-22 mm.

Such panels are consecutively glued to a sub-floor to form a covering flooring.

When the flooring is completed, it is ground at least two times. A filler material is manually applied over the surface by means of a putty knife or the like, and the flooring is again ground two times. Thereafter, it can be lacquered or oiled to receive its final appearance.

The entire laying and surface treatment process is very lengthy and expensive. It may take 5 days to lay a floor of 500 m2, 2-3 days to grind it, 2 days to apply the filler material, 1-2 days to grind again, and 1-2 days to apply lacquer or oil, whereupon a couple of days are needed for drying, i.e., altogether about two weeks.

A further disadvantage is of course that grinding dust and noise are spread in the room in question as well as in neighboring rooms.

Although a homogenous wooden flooring accomplished in the described way is very high-class and beautiful, there is a need to provide a flooring material with the same appearance but without the drawbacks inherent in the described flooring.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is directed to a manufacturing process for a flooring panel, comprising the steps of:

a) gluing wooden slats in a covering fashion on a backing board,

b) applying a filler material over the wooden slats in such a manner that cracks or slots in or between the slats are filled,

c) forming the backing board with its wooden slats into a flooring panel with desired dimensions, and

d) grinding the upper surface, namely the exposed slat surface, of the flooring panel down to a clean wood surface.

Further features of the invention are described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flooring panel obtained by a method according to the invention, and

FIG. 2 is a view from the right in FIG. 1 (and on a larger scale) of a portion of the flooring panel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A rectangular flooring panel 1 includes a great number of wooden slats 2 with a generally square cross-section, glued to a backing board 3 transversely to the longitudinal direction of the panel 1. The backing board 3 preferably consists of a plywood board. In a preferred and shown embodiment, the panel 1 is on its side or edge surfaces provided with grooves and tongues for enabling connection to other similar panels on a sub-floor or floor substrate to form a wooden floor.

Each such flooring panel 1 is manufactured in the following way:

The wooden slats 2 (of a kind of wood suitable for flooring purposes) are produced in a dimension of, for example, 190 mm×10 mm×10 mm. These slats are mixed, so that the final flooring panel 1 provides an heterogenous and lively appearance, and are glued on the backing board 3. This backing board may have a thickness of 10 mm or more, a length of 1200 mm, and a width of 190 mm and is preferably a plywood board. As stated, the slats 2 are glued transversely to the longitudinal direction of the plywood board 1.

A transparent filler material, which preferably is quickly hardening and may comprise 1,1-1,4-butandioldiacrylate, is applied over the wooden slats 2, so that it covers the slats and fills all possible cracks or slots in or between the wooden slats and effectively locks the slats 2 together. One important effect is that it will later be possible to perform a sawing or milling operation without any risk for the slats 2 to break up or break away.

The next operation is to saw and/or mill the flooring panel 1 into its final rectangular form with a width of 160 mm or 170 mm. In a preferred case, the flooring panel 1 is simultaneously herewith provided with grooves and tongues at all edge surfaces. As said, the filler material on and between the slats 2 will prevent the slats from splintering during this operation.

The further step is to grind away the filler material covering the slats 2 down to a clean wood surface, which means that the filler material remains between the slats and continues to provide the above advantages.

A final step in the manufacturing process may now be to apply a suitable lacquer in an industrial process, but it is alternatively possible to deliver the flooring panel without any surface treatment. In the latter case, surface treatment, for example application of a suitable oil, can be performed after laying the flooring panels to a floor, as is well known in the art.

The obtained flooring panels are comparatively heavy, which means that glue may be applied only in dots and does not necessarily need to be applied over the entire substrate. It may even be possible to lay the flooring panels without glue and to rely on the locking obtained by the grooves and tongues of the flooring panels, possibly strengthened by glue therein.

As an alternative to the use of locking together different flooring panels by means of grooves and tongues, other known joining techniques, such as by clips, may be used. It is even possible to lay the flooring panels without joining them together. By its construction, the flooring panel is very stable against effects of moisture.

If certain flooring panels need to be cut at the laying in order to obtain adaptation to the surface to be covered, the applied filler material will still provide the advantage of keeping the slots 2 together and stabilize the structure. 

1. A method of manufacturing a flooring panel comprising: (a) gluing wooden slats in a covering fashion on a backing board, (b) applying a filler material over the wooden slats in such a manner that openings in or between the slats are filled with said filler material, (c) forming the backing board with said wooden slats into a flooring panel with an exposed slat surface, and (d) grinding the exposed slat surface down to a clean wood surface.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the backing board is provided with grooves and tongues at side edges thereof in step (c).
 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the backing board is a plywood board.
 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the filler material comprises a transparent, quick-hardening material.
 5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the filler material comprises 1,1-1,4-butandioldiacrylate.
 6. A method according to claim 1, wherein each of said wooden slats has a cross-sectional dimension of 10 mm×10 mm.
 7. A method according to claim 3, wherein the plywood board has a thickness of 10 mm or more.
 8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the flooring panel has a length of about 1200 mm and a width of about 160-170 mm and wherein the wooden slats are glued to the backing board in a direction transverse to a longitudinal direction of the flooring panel. 